![\"pacha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_9296.jpg\")
FIVE Holdings executive Kabir Mulchandani (second from left) presented his plan for Pacha New York to Community Board 1 on Tuesday.Photo by Kirstyn Brendlen<\/p>\nThe team from Pacha New York got a taste of the sweaty, crowded nights to come on Tuesday night as their plans for the former Brooklyn Mirage space were met with skepticism and anger at Community Board 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pacha and its parent company, FIVE Holdings, have been approved to take over operations of the old Mirage and its sister venue, The Great Hall, after the spectacular failure and subsequent bankruptcy of Avant Gardner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the deal has been settled and tickets sold for opening weekend, Pacha still needs a liquor license, which means seeking the advisory approval of CB1.\n<\/p>\n
Exec says Mirage\u2019s challenges should be blamed on management\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a packed and overheated room at the Swinging Sixties Senior Center, FIVE chair and chief executive officer Kabir Mulchandani said he knew the Mirage had left locals unhappy, but said Pacha would be different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce talking to members of the community, it has become exceptionally clear that there were many challenges this venue faced, but I don\u2019t think the venue deserves the blame,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the management that deserves the blame.\u201d<\/p>\n
FIVE Holdings executive Kabir Mulchandani (second from left) presented his plan for Pacha New York to Community Board 1 on Tuesday.Photo by Kirstyn Brendlen<\/p>\n
Among those \u201cchallenges\u201d were chronic overcrowding and safety issues \u2014 including three fatal drug overdoses<\/a> \u2014 that repeatedly landed the Mirage in hot water<\/a> with the State Liquor Authority. A 2023 lawsuit<\/a> claimed that patrons had been assaulted and harassed by security staff. The same year, politicians lambasted the venue\u2019s lack of security after two visitors were found dead<\/a> in Newtown Creek.\u00a0<\/p>\n Simultaneously, locals said they were plagued by booming bass emanating from the outdoor venue at all hours of night and by drunken patrons trashing the neighborhood in the early hours of the morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, there was the infamous failed renovation that eventually sent Avant Gardner into bankruptcy after the structurally-unsound<\/a> \u201cMirage 2.0\u201d failed to pass inspection and was later demolished.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pacha plans for smaller venue, smaller crowds\u00a0<\/p>\n For now, Pacha New York would be smaller and simpler than the Mirage, Mulchandani said. It would have a smaller capacity \u2014 room for 7,850 people between the former Mirage space and The Great Hall, less than the roughly 9,600 who would have fit in the never-opened \u201cNew Mirage.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the Department of Buildings has already approved permits for the temporary structures they\u2019re planning to build, noting that they had gone through a thorough approvals process with the DOB, where the old Mirage was self-certified and later found to have structural issues.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a way to be sure that what you\u2019re doing complies with the regulations and with safety,\u201d he said. \u201c \u2026 it was far more expensive, far more time consuming, but we received approvals for everything we\u2019re going to build.\u201d<\/p>\n DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky confirmed that the structures have undergone a full plan examination and that permits have been granted. Because of the site\u2019s history, any new construction applications have to go through the full DOB review, he said, and are not allowed to be self-certified.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mulchandani emphasized the \u201csimplicity\u201d of the design.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no complicated walls and things hanging off things. It\u2019s not an unsafe structure because it\u2019s still using the great screen that made this venue incredible,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Permits show that Pacha plans to construct a temporary stage, platforms and a video screen on the empty lot where the Mirage used to be. Shipping containers will be used to create temporary spaces both backstage and in the concert area, and plans call for a 23-foot acoustic wall Mulchandani said will help dampen sound in the neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the venue will also utilize new sound-reduction equipment and policies, including decibel monitors and directional speakers that will point in toward the crowd, rather than up and out. An analysis by geotechnical consulting firm GZA showed that the loudest noise would be restricted to the area directly surrounding the venue, though noise would still carry significantly in the area north of the venue.<\/p>\n When open, Pacha will axe the Mirage\u2019s 18+ policy and only allow people 21+ to enter, he said. The venue would use \u201cAI-powered\u201d capacity tracking and walk-through security scanners<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Outside, he said the venue has already installed a 4G\/5G macrosite to provide cell service for people entering and leaving, and that they will deploy temporary lights on \u201cdesignated pedestrian routes\u201d after shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pacha is also planning to run shuttle buses to the Morgan Avenue, Jefferson Avenue and Union Square stations between 2:30-4:30 a.m. Those buses, modeled on an existing service at Pacha in Ibiza, would run every 30 minutes or \u201cas needed,\u201d according to the venue\u2019s new director of security.\u00a0<\/p>\n After performances, the venue would deploy cleanup crews to Meserole Street and Stewart Avenue to take care of trash \u2014 and, as some neighbors warned, copious amounts of vomit \u2014 left by its patrons.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018How can we trust you?\u2019<\/p>\n Mulchandani\u2019s presentation was immediately greeted with pushback.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHow can we trust you when you\u2019ve already sold 16,000 tickets for an event you\u2019re having in June and you haven\u2019t even gotten approved yet, as far as I know, for your liquor license?\u201d asked board member Julia Amanda Foster.\u00a0<\/p>\n Foster later said that Pacha\u2019s lawyer, Max Bookman, had \u201ccrossed out\u201d license stipulations suggested by the community board\u2019s SLA committee.\n<\/p>\n Bookman and Mulchandani emphasized that they are applying to \u201ctransfer\u201d the existing liquor license held by Avant Gardner, which is still valid but inactive.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bookman said the team was referring back to stipulations the board approved for Avant Gardner in 2025, which allowed the venue to keep selling alcohol until 4 a.m. and remain open until 4:30 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe relied on those stipulations, and we figured, if you were willing to approve old [Avant Gardner] with those stipulations, we feel that, based on all the improvements we\u2019re offering, you ought to be willing to approve us for the same hours of operation,\u201d Bookman said. \u201cThis is a transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n Per state law, a \u201ctransfer<\/a>\u201d does not mean that an existing liquor license is moved to a new operator. A transfer refers to an application filed by a business that is buying over an already-licensed one. Both the application and permit are entirely new.<\/p>\n Mulchandani claimed that if the transfer application were not approved in time, Avant Gardner could operate the venue with its existing license.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThey have an existing liquor license that\u2019s active and can be used, and we franchise our brand and we use our brand and we work in coordination with them,\u201d he said. \u201cOr we can have this transfer done and go through the process. So the venue is going to open either way, there is an existing liquor license.\u201d<\/p>\n But a new owner or operator can\u2019t just use a license issued to the previous operator, an SLA representative told Brooklyn Paper.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cIf they did that, it would actually be a charge of availing the license,\u201d they said. \u201cThat is definitely not allowed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Restrictions on franchises were not as clear, they said, but if a venue has a new owner and operator \u2014 as Pacha does \u2014 they could not make use of the old permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Avant Gardner\u2019s existing license \u2014 which is inactive but valid until 2027 \u2014 was at risk of being revoked by the SLA last year due to its long list of violations. At an SLA board meeting<\/a> in December 2025, SLA chair Lily Fan agreed to let Avant Gardner keep its license but upped a $50,000 fine to $175,000.<\/p>\n She also ordered that the new owner\u2019s liquor license application would have to come before the full SLA board.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Nearly every speaker at Tuesday\u2019s meeting registered their concerns about Pacha. A resident named Karina said she has lived near the venue for 20 years. The influx of music venues has changed an already under-resourced neighborhood for the worst, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very sad what is happening, people come in from other communities and they basically trash the neighborhood and the club owners make hand-over-fist while you see schools that are struggling, no green space,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many of the residents at Tuesday\u2019s meeting live in neighboring CB4, which they said has been largely excluded from the licensing conversations despite being deeply impacted by the clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a caregiver. My dad is 84 years old, he has Alzheimer\u2019s, and the streets are loud,\u201d said Giovannies Justiniano, a member of CB4. \u201cIt\u2019s an ecosystem that has been horrible for us. Trash, nightlife, piss, and it\u2019s also exhaustive for a lot of resources in the city, for NYPD, DSNY.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bushwick resident Brian Konash told the committee that he supports Pacha opening a large venue with late-night hours. The site is \u201cunique,\u201d he said, and a magnet for artists and tourists.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pacha site is in an M3 heavy industrial zoned area located in an already-established nightlife district,\u201d he said. \u201cLoud noises are supposed to happen in heavy industrial zoned nightlife areas.\u201d<\/p>\n Several other residents said that while newer Brooklynites feel like East Williamsburg has always housed dozens of venues, it used to be much quieter.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Nina Melendez told Brooklyn Paper she has lived \u201ca little over 1,000 feet\u201d from the venue since 2008.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that back there is very industrial, and it seems like an ideal place to open a club, but then that flow of traffic comes right back into the residential area,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was no mitigation, there was no, any kind of effort put into what to do after all of these drunk people left the club.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mirage sitting dark and empty for the past year has provided a reprieve Melendez described as \u201cwonderful.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an overabundance of this type of business concentrated right over there, though, so it\u2019s not like it went away,\u201d said Hailey Desjardins. \u201cThe growth of that has been really fast and very unchecked.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2018We are asking for a chance\u2019<\/p>\n Evelyn Cruz, district director for U.S. Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez, said the congressmember and several other elected officials sent a letter to the SLA asking that the application review be delayed \u201cuntil we\u2019re able to go in and visit the location and get more information. The SLA agreed, se said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want the community to do the right thing, and if it means taking a tour, delaying the vote, that\u2019s what we do,\u201d Cruz said.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n While the full license application is being weighed, Pacha has applied for a temporary license, Bookman said. That application is set to be heard by the SLA board next month. If granted, a temporary license would carry restrictions \u2014 like a closing time of midnight at the latest and no outdoor music at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are asking for a chance,\u201d Mulchandani said. \u201cThis can be done where you give us a temporary approval, we come back in October, we come back after a season\u2019s been done. Put us to the test. Do whatever you reasonably need to do to test us. Hold me accountable. But give me an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Melendez said she was glad to hear about the things Pacha plans to put in place to address the issues raised by the community, but she remained hesitant. The feeling was shared \u2014 other speakers said they would \u201cbelieve it when I see it\u201d and urged additional controls, like real-time noise monitoring and a life complaint hotline similar to what\u2019s used at Under the K Bridge Park<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to give him a chance,\u201d Melendez said. \u201cI would also love for there to be stipulations in place so when they break that trust, and when they violate the things that they\u2019ve agreed to do, that there are consequences to that.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The team from Pacha New York got a taste of the sweaty, crowded nights to come on Tuesday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[3250,79156,14614,2571,2819,98,100,2535,99,79157,79158,34547,2823,74221,2824,79159,79160,79161,43228,79162,79163,2825,2538,14492,9,24,12,2827,79164,13920,63,8004,53206,1986,2721,79165,61731,8981,2829,2833],"class_list":{"0":"post-198760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-ai-scanner","10":"tag-application","11":"tag-arts-and-entertainment","12":"tag-avant-gardner","13":"tag-brooklyn","14":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","15":"tag-brooklyn-mirage","16":"tag-brooklyn-news","17":"tag-cb1","18":"tag-cb4","19":"tag-community-board-1","20":"tag-department-of-buildings","21":"tag-dj","22":"tag-dob","23":"tag-giovannies-justiniano","24":"tag-hailey-desjardins","25":"tag-julia-amanda-foster","26":"tag-kabir-mulchandani","27":"tag-liquor-license","28":"tag-max-bookman","29":"tag-mirage","30":"tag-music","31":"tag-neighbors","32":"tag-new-york","33":"tag-new-york-city","34":"tag-news","35":"tag-nightlife","36":"tag-nina-melendez","37":"tag-noise","38":"tag-nyc","39":"tag-nydia-velazquez","40":"tag-pacha-new-york","41":"tag-safety","42":"tag-security","43":"tag-sla","44":"tag-sound","45":"tag-state-liquor-authority","46":"tag-the-great-hall","47":"tag-venue"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3_BrooklynMirage2025_Stage.jpg\")
A rendering of the renovated Brooklyn Mirage, which never opened, showing layers of mezzanines nad large screens on the walls. Image courtesy of Brooklyn Mirage<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/08092023_PF_The_Brooklyn_Mirage_07-scaled.jpg\")
Avant Gardner, with the Mirage at left, in 2023. File photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n